How DC Universe Online ended up on Switch

Years after it’s initial launch, DC Universe Online will be making its way to Switch on August 6. Some might be wondering: how did this happen in the first place?

Daybreak Game Company head Jack Emmert and executive producer Leah Bowers began talking about the idea after Bowers received a Switch as a Christmas gift and was impressed with the hardware. Despite some uncertainty as to whether or not it would actually work, the team received development kits and went from there.

Bowers told us that the team began working on the Switch port towards the end of 2018. Though Daybreak encountered some roadblocks, “the whole process was pretty seamless after a certain point.”

According to Bowers, Atlantis acted as a “kind of test map” to see if DC Universe Online would be possible on Switch. She explained:

“… after we sunset the PS3, we built Atlantis knowing that the bar was PS4, and we pushed it pretty hardcore. So we were like, ‘Well, if Atlantis runs – if we can get that to run, we’re probably in okay shape.’ And so that was the first real test: can Atlantis just run? Seeing that running definitely let us know we were on the right track.”

Aside from actually getting DC Universe Online on Switch, not much needed to be changed. Elements like the UI carried over seamlessly, and there were no substantial adjustments made for portable mode.